THE GORE PLAN, THE PICKENS PLAN AND THE HEARTLAND

The widely heralded calls from Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens for more New Energy keep echoing through the canyons of popular attention.

Kansas, a state right in the middle of the Midwestern wind corridor Pickens describes in his presentations as "the Saudi Arabia of wind," is buzzing. Under the bold leadership of Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas has been busy building wind for some time now. (See AT THE CENTER OF THE BOOM IN WIND) Following the release of a Department of Energy-approved plan from the wind industry to build enough new wind infrastructure to generate 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030, the Gore and Pickens publicity splashes have incited even more excitement.

Nancy Jackson, executive director, Climate and Energy Project: “I’m over the moon about it…This gives Kansans a chance to stay home and have jobs where they have grown up, which is great…”

Potential total economic benefit to Kansas if the state builds its share of the proposed new wind capacity: $7.8 billion, including 23,000 construction jobs and more than 3,000 permanent jobs.

Adding to the excitement, Rock Port, Missouri, a town of 1,300 on the Missouri-Nebraska border just north of Kansas City, has declared itself the first town in the U.S. to get 100% of its electricity from wind energy.

Jo Stevens, mayor, Rock Port: “I still get a thrill when I come into town and see those turbines sitting up there, even though they have been there for two or three months…”

Things may not unfold quite as explosively as Pickens and Gore predict. Only supportive federal, state and local governments can facilitate such a dynamic expansion.

Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA): “This is not business as usual…To make this work, clearly we would need a different set of policies in place.”

Translation: Extend the production tax credit (PTC) set to expire at the end of 2008 or lose the momentum. Implement supportive incentives like a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and a long-term PTC to renew and sustain wind industry investment.

Since nothing much gets written these days without quotes from the presidential candidates (or something about the Jolie-Pitt twins), here are the candidates on the Pickens and Gore presentations (because the twins have so far withheld comment).

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, agreeing with Gore: “…we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy...It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced.”

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain: “All of these alternate forms of energy have to be, one, funded in pure research and development, and second, see which one wins…But let them loose, unleash them all.”

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Wind-energy dreams gain altitude
Karen Dillon (w/Dave Helling), July 19, 2008 (Kansas City Star)

WHO
T. Boone Pickens, oil & gas and wind energy entrepreneur; Nobel laureate, former Vice President and Academy award winner Al Gore; American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) (Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman); The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

WHAT
On the heels of the Pickens and Gore pronouncements, Kansas –like other Midwestern states – is gearing up for a yet bigger boom.

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WHEN
- The U.S. presently generates 1% to 2% of its power from wind.
- A DOE report release in the spring found it entirely feasible for the U.S. to plan on generating 20% of its electricity from wind by 2030.
- Gore says a trillion dollar investment over the next 10 years could build a New Energy infrastructure in the U.S. to produce 100% of the nation’s electricity from New Energy.
- Pickens also set a 10-year goal for his program.
- Electricity rates in Rock Port, Missouri, are expected to remain unchanged for the next 15 to 20 years as the turbines continue to generate power at an unchanged rate.

WHERE
- Pickens describes wind resources of that stretch of the Midwestern U.S. from the Texas Gulf coast to the Canadian border as the richest land wind assets in the world.
- Kansas sit right in the middle of the wind-rich Midwestern plains.

WHY
- According to the Kansas City reporters, the Pickens splash is costing him $58 million. It is a small part of the $12 billion price tag on his 4,000-megawatt Pampa Wind Project.
- Kansas is already seeing the economic benefits of a wind energy boom like the one Pickens touts the way wind energy development has transformed the once-decaying Texas town of Sweetwater.
- Pickens says the U.S. must understand the flow of its money into foreign oil-producing countries’ coffers as “a national emergency and take immediate action.”
- Both presidential candidates have recognized important aspects of the Pickens and Gore plans but neither candidate has endorsed either plan in full.
- The possibility and practicality of Pickens’ proposal t transform U.S. transportation to compressed natural gas fuel has been widely questioned.
- The possibility of achieving the level of manufacturing necessary or building the amount of new transmission required for either the Gore or the Pickens plan has also been widely questioned.

DOE and AWEA say it can be done in 2 decades; Gore and Pickens say it can be done sooner. The point: It can be done! (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Jo Stevens, mayor, Rock Port: “Being a small town, it was the main entertainment around here…When they brought in the crane to erect the towers and put on — I call them the white pinwheels — there was a crowd standing and watching.”
- Debbie Mesloh, communications director, Sen. Barack Obama/Missouri: “Pickens’ proposal to break our addiction to foreign oil and significantly ramp up our investments in renewable energy is precisely in line with what Obama has proposed in his comprehensive energy plan…”
- Pickens: “America is in a hole, and it’s getting deeper every day…”
- Julia Bovey, communications director, Natural Resources Defense Council: “[The Gore and the Pickens plans are] really a nice fit…The Pickens ads are really compelling, a tough, macho guy talking about, ‘I was an oil man but now it is time for wind.’ These are all parts of the equation.”